Hong Kong authorities have closed more than a dozen beaches and launched a clean-up effort after a ship collision caused almost 1,000 tonnes of palm oil to spill into the sea.
Environmental agencies on Wednesday said they had collected more than 90 tonnes of the white, lard-like substance, which had congealed on the sand and rocks of popular beaches in the territory’s south-west.
Although the collision occurred on Thursday in China’s nearby Pearl River estuary, mainland authorities only informed their Hong Kong counterparts on Saturday, sparking concerns over the effectiveness of communications between the semi-autonomous region and neighbouring Guangdong province.